The Man With The Iron Fists [2012]

There are a few things that you need to know about this movie before playing it. First of all, it is directed and written by RZA (American Gangster, Repo Man, The Box), a man who you probably best known as the singer of the Wu-Tang Clan. He is an avid fan of old kung fu movies, you know the ones I mean, the bad-acting, ridiculous and over the top violence movies, a fun romp for the male part of the family. Secondly, Eli Roth (Cabin Fever, Hostel) helped him with the script and production, a gore loving freak, just like the rest of us. And finally you sprinkle this with Quentin Tarantino’s magic fingers (not actual fingers, although you wouldn’t know it from the movie) and you got yourself quite a mess, but an entertaining mess.

Nineteenth century, China, dozens of different clans are at war with each other seeking ultimate power and domination. And gold, lots and lots of gold. A small village is caught in the middle of this mess, with its blacksmith working day and night, making the deadliest weapons on the world for the clans. Desperately in need of money to buy back his only love from the local brothel and escape this wretched town he has no moral objections, he just sees the money. As the governor sends a large shipment of gold trough the village under the protection of the Lion Clan, the rest of the clans gather to prepare an attack on the shipment. This shipment attracts all kinds of people so soon this little village will be a place where epic battles will take place.

The Man With The Iron Fists is strange, but no stranger than its premise, so do not judge it lightly because it has a lot to offer. Production values are phenomenal and the special effects awesome, especially the gore. They didn’t hold back with the blood and eviscerations and all the other fun stuff. It has a western vibe, although it is about Chinese warriors, and this can be confusing at times, but still it’s all worth it. The only problem is that it takes a while for a story to develop, but during that time we should be paying more attention to the details, weapons and other stuff…